Necromancy
Necromancers use rituals to animate the dead and create lifeless beings. While most of these are mindless bodies that serve their master’s will, they are occasionally created with intelligence. This is uncommon, however, as the components and skills needed for this are beyond the reach of most necromancers. Necromancy, contrary to popular belief in some places, is not granted by Demons. Ironically, it actually has quite a bit more to do with Holy Magic, in that the necromantic arts are primarily related to the manipulation of spirits. Necromancy differs from the other spiritual arts in that it does not bind concepts and the spirits of natural materials, but the very souls of living beings. When a Necromancer creates a Zombie, the soul that once inhabited the body is dragged from its resting place and crudely bound to it. Though reattached to its corporeal form, the spirit has no true control or even proper consciousness beyond a dim awareness of their restless state. However, it provides an animating force to the body, which obeys the Necromancer's commands to the best of its ability. More advanced and "smarter" Undead, such as Ghouls, offer a more complete connection between the host body and animating spirit, allowing full or heightened awareness and even a degree of control, making such powerful Undead actually somewhat resemble their former selves. However, the spirit still finds itself unable to intentionally disobey their master's orders. The underlying principles of Necromancy have broader applications than simple animation, however. The same energies that can reattach souls to their bodies can also be used to force the complete or partial separation of a soul from a body. This is, needless to say, a very bad thing for the unfortunate victim of such an action, who typically suffers serious disorientation and extreme weakness even if they manage to resist total separation, which guarantees death. This is not limited to spirits that belong in the body that they are currently attached to: Historically, some Necromancers have even managed to pose as Demon Hunters by forcibly ripping demons from their possessed hosts, though properly banishing them requires other means. The most powerful Necromancers may be capable of augmentation, the art of temporarily shuffling extra souls around to grant abilities to themselves or even others. For example, one might tether the spirit of a passing or even dead bird to oneself to temporarily learn to fly, as the spirit's levity defies gravity entirely. Similarly, a necromancer might draw forth the spirit of a mighty ape or other mighty beast for the physical strength to achieve victory in a test of such. These arts, while potent, vary immensely and must be learned individually. It is a very old and mighty sorcerer who has mastered all of them. Necromancy Mechanics The Water Magic advantage costs 5 AP per rank, and is a Mid Utility advantage that is also useable in All ranges of Combat. Rank I: A mage with one rank of Necromancy is more or less a beginner, but is powerful and skilled enough to raise a Zombie (with a full ritual) or disorient a foe by attacking their soul. Dead souls are fairly easy to manipulate, though this form of augmentation is highly inefficient. However, a beginning Necromancer who uses their abilities judiciously could find themselves a little better at a lot of things. Rank II: A mage with two ranks of Necromancy is considerable in skill, and could be considered a proper Necromancer. A mage of this skill could produce Reavers with some effort, and perhaps even a Ghoul. Their power over souls has also increased, and her powerful attacks could potentially kill or incapacitate. More advanced augmentations can be performed at this level as well, ensuring a generally more dangerous and powerful individual. Rank III: A mage with three ranks of Necromancy has become able to breach the barriers between life and death with ease. No longer are such simple creations as Zombies and Reavers especially difficult, and the Necromancer likely doesn't even need the full ritual to create these anymore. Such a mighty sorcerer could create Ghouls of high power and intelligence with some effort, or rip a soul from a living body when enraged. Necromancers of this rank are truly forces to be reckoned with as well, able to augment themselves for a wide variety of purposes and quite effectively as well. This is also about the level of skill required in creating Crawlers or Necromentals, due to the difficulty of spreading a single soul over many bodies. Rank IV: A mage with four ranks of Necromancy seems almost divine in their power over life, capable of killing with a snap of their fingers or raising small armies of simpler Undead with little more than a fragment of their incredible power. Their skills in augmentation allow impressive feats of physical acuity in addition to their already prodigious might. This is believed to be the level at which a Revenant could be created, due to the energies involved, though such a thing has never been performed successfully in recorded history. Rank V+: A mage with five or more ranks of Necromancy almost certainly either has used principles gleaned from other forms of magic to reach this point or else has spiritual assistance from an outside source, such as godhood. Such a mage could raise a horde of Ghouls effortlessly, or kill entire armies with little more than a thought. Their augmentation abilities would allow them to outclass all lesser men in terms of what can be done by their physical form. At this point, something like the creation of Revenants could become practically routine. *Still Copypasta below* Common Water Magic Spells While every Water Mage has his or her own style and probably a few custom spells (and of course Elemental Mages tend to make up spells on the spot), the following are all common-use variants on spells for water manipulation and are available to anyone with the Water Magic advantage. *Flow - The most basic spell a water mage learns, most other spells in the Water Mage arsenal are derived from this one. It covers the basic motion of water. *Freeze/Unfreeze - The conversion of water to ice and back. Advanced Water Mages can weaponize it. *Waterspout - An extension of Flow, Waterspout produces an ongoing, whirling column of water that can be used to crash through formations and improvised barriers. Requires a substantial nearby source of water, no smaller than a stream. *Whirlpool - An inversion of Waterspout, Whirlpool produces its namesake, dragging anything floating down into the depths of the body of water it's placed in. *Obscuring Mist - Vaporizes nearby water in the area, sending it into the air and obscuring sight. *Water Whip - A favored defensive spell, Water Whip is an accelerated version of flow that can levitate a small quantity of water and lash opponents with it. *Porcupine Ice - Just like the similarly-named Earth spell, Porcupine Ice sends shards of ice moving with great speed, with the goal of impaling foes. Rare Water Magic Spells The following spells are sometimes known to Water Mages, but are not included by default and require a separate advantage. *Cold Snap - A specialized Freeze that blankets the entire area within the caster's range in ice, impeding motion and making a wealth of ice available for shaping purposes. *It's Not Ice - Another specialized spell. Rather than freezing water, it simply makes water fail to take the shape of the container that it resides in, keeping all other liquid properties. A boat could float on a column of water contained by nothing at all, while people swim through it. *Bursting Bubbles - Ridiculous on the surface of it, the spell is actually one of the most devastating available in naval warfare. Drawing on Air Magic principles, the caster drags a great deal of air beneath the waves and releases it beneath their target. The resulting explosion of bubbles destroys the bouyancy of whatever floats above it, sinking it immediately.